STE: Bunny Slippers
by ZenosParadox
Summary: RS friendship, A, Po, Tu. Malcolm winds up escorting Hoshi and her Bunny Slippers on a brief tour of Enterprise


Title: Bunny Slippers  
  
Author: ZenosParadox  
  
Category: Humor  
  
Rating: G  
  
Summary: RS friendship, A, Po, Tu. Hoshi's bunny slippers get a brief tour of the Enterprise. Dedicated to all the fanfic authors out there who believe that Hoshi has bunny slippers. Apologies to those who got tired of references to them.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.  
  
BUNNY SLIPPERS  
  
Ensign Hoshi Sato entered the bridge, gasping for air, and noticed the science station and Captain's chair were empty.  
  
Good, that would mean the Archer and T'Pol were in conference in the Captain's ready room. Sato quickly flew to her seat, taking a mental inventory of who would be present to witness her late arrival to shift.   
  
Ensign Travis Mayweather was at the helm with his back turned. Good again. But, of course, nothing got past the attention of Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. Sato stifled a groan and shot a quick glance over her right shoulder--only to find the Lieutenant's chest blocking her view of the tactical station.  
  
How could he move so quietly? She moved her glance up to see a perplexed expression on his face as he stood by her chair.  
  
"Ensign, I believe bunny slippers are not classified as appropriate footwear while on duty. Perhaps you should return to your quarters to exchange them for the correct complement to your uniform."  
  
Sato looked down at her feet as the blush rose on her face.   
  
"I--you see--I should go," said Sato as she rose to make a quick exit.   
  
Unfortunately, the Bunny Slippers betrayed her, intrigued as they were by the British accent. They stubbornly stuck to the floor when her foot should have moved forward. Lieutenant Reed had been stepping backward away from Sato's chair to give her room to maneuver when the slippers decided to extend their tour of the bridge. Reed was not prepared to have Sato launched at him head first into his chest as she stumbled forward.  
  
It was just after the Lieutenant and Ensign hit the floor that Captain Archer and Sub-commander T'Pol appeared on the bridge. The Vulcan looked at the two officers on the floor and merely arched an eyebrow as she glanced toward the Captain. T'Pol quickly took her place at the science station thinking that turning her back on the entire incident was the most logical thing to do at the moment.   
  
Mayweather had turned around to look back at the pair when he had heard the thud, but immediately returned his attention to the viewscreen. He hoped that he was hiding his laughter. His shaking shoulders gave evidence to his amusement, however.  
  
Captain Archer was speechless, not having expected to find his Tactical Officer in a tangle with his Communications Officer. But the oddest thing in the picture were the Bunny Slippers, especially the empty one on the floor by Sato's foot. Its cheery expression made it seem like an excited child visiting the bridge. Archer wouldn't have been surprised if it had winked.  
  
"Mr. Reed, I expect my bridge officers to be at their proper stations when on duty. Couldn't the two of you find some other time to, uh, socialize?"   
  
The whole situation looked so ludicrous that Jon Archer couldn't help but be amused. He would have addressed Sato, but she suddenly buried her head in Reed's chest in embarrassment, not realizing how this could be misinterpreted.   
  
For his part, Malcolm was sitting up on his elbows with Hoshi's head on his chest and his knees on either side of her body. He knew he was blushing in embarrassment at being in this compromising position. The whole situation seemed to please the errant bunny slipper that lay within view on the floor with its smiling expression. If only he had his phase pistol!  
  
With the dignity only his proper British upbringing could muster, the Lieutenant rose from the floor and brought up the distressed Ensign with him. He reached for the offending bunny slipper with one hand, grabbing it by an ear as they arose.  
  
"Sir, with your permission--" At this point Malcolm was interrupted by sobs coming from Hoshi who still could not face the others and had kept her head buried against his shoulder with one hand covering her face.  
  
"Mr. Reed! Both of you. In my ready room. Now!" The Captain stalked off immediately, wondering whether the entanglement was as innocent as he had first assumed. Tucker had mentioned Reed's history with women and he certainly didn't want Hoshi falling prey to anyone's need for a female conquest.  
  
The Lieutenant, now blushing hotly, turned with his burden toward the ready room. Sato had controlled her sobs, but now had to contend with a fit of hiccups. She walked with her head downcast. Reed stopped their progress toward the ready room after a few steps as he noted the slap, flop, slap, flop gait beside him in accompaniment to the hiccups.   
  
Reed turned to Sato and merely held out his hand in demand. Sato bent her knee to bring her foot up. She retrieved the other bunny slipper and handed it into the custody of the Tactical Officer. Reed now had both slippers by the ears; however, their mutual grins gave them the appearance of old friends enjoying being reacquainted. He led Sato into the ready room by guiding at her elbow.  
  
Captain Archer looked at the two officers. Sato was standing straight although her expression still indicated her distress and her body jerked as each new hiccup erupted.   
  
Reed was standing at attention by her side, obviously put off by the chain of events. He set the Bunny Slippers on the table before them. They seemed to be enjoying the visit to the Captain's ready room as much as they had enjoyed their interlude on the bridge.   
  
"Now, is there something you'd like to tell me about your relationship with Hoshi, Lieutenant?" asked the Captain, trying to keep the accusation from his voice.  
  
The Lieutenant looked absolutely stunned by the question, although the Bunny Slippers in front of him appeared quite merry at the suggestion. Trying to pull his wits together, Reed began, "Sir--I--"   
  
"Sir (hic), I can expla(hic)," interrupted Sato. " I (hic) running la(hic), distracted. Malc(hic) had just advi(hic) me to go (hic) quarters (hic) Trudy got stuck--"   
  
"Trudy? Who's Trudy?" asked Archer as both he and Reed now turned to Sato in surprise.  
  
"Trudy (hic) right (hic) slipper. The left (hic) is Rudy," explained Sato. She knew it sounded ridiculous, but her mother had been buying her bunny slippers since she was a little girl. Each time, the right one was called Trudy and the left one was called Rudy. It was a connection with home that she normally cherished.  
  
A quick side glance at Lieutenant Reed saw him briefly close his eyes in disbelief, but Sato continued. "I'm just (hic)ving a bad (hic), sir."  
  
At this point they were interrupted by Mayweather at the door carrying Porthos inside. "Sorry to bother you, sir, but you said if Porthos got out again to bring him to you immediately. Ensign Kelly found him on his way to the mess hall."  
  
Porthos wagged his tail jubilantly at the sight of his master. Now he would get some cheese! Archer took the unrepentant pup in his arms as Mayweather left. Before the Captain could begin his censure of either canine or human species, Porthos noticed the Bunny Slippers in front of Lieutenant Reed. He began his sharp bark that asked, "What's that?"  
  
But the Bunny Slippers remained silent and continued to mock the beagle's attempts at discovery.  
  
Porthos lunged out of the Captain's arms toward the taunting figures. Sato gave a loud gasp and hiccup. Reed grabbed the slippers and held them at shoulder height to prevent their becoming Porthos' new chew toy. Malcolm had registered that if Hoshi actually named the fuzzy objects she would have an emotional attachment to them.  
  
Porthos now started to growl as the Bunny Slippers continued to provoke him with their gleeful stare in his direction.  
  
"I think I'm beginning to understand. Mr. Reed, please escort Ensign Sato to sickbay so Doctor Phlox can take care of her hiccups. And don't either of you show up again until those bunny slippers are safely locked away."  
  
As the Lieutenant and Ensign exited, they heard Archer saying, "Bad dog! No, don't give me that look. Well, alright, maybe just one..."  
  
------  
  
"Here you go, Ensign. This never fails to do the trick with humans. Just drink it up," said Phlox with a smile as he gave a two-ounce container to Sato. It was filled with a green liquid. Reed leaned against the counter by her side.   
  
Sato drank down the liquid quickly, almost spewing it out at the last minute. Her hiccups turned into a series of coughs. Without thinking, Reed moved to pat her on the back, not remembering his hand held the Bunny Slippers.   
  
The Bunny Slippers joyfully danced on Hoshi's back until the good Lieutenant noticed what he was doing. Malcolm stopped immediately, removed the slippers from his hand by placing them next to the bat cage on the counter, and returned to patting Hoshi on the back.   
  
"Snrlchrrznrt!" came from the bat cage.   
  
The Bunny Slippers merely looked pleased that their tour of the ship had been extended to the medical bay. However, their presence continued to taunt the bat.   
  
"Znrtvrblthp!" The bat continued to vent her vexation at sensing something nearby that gave an echo of fur but that was not becoming her next meal.  
  
"Oh, I am sorry, Ensign. I should have mentioned that you were drinking dill-flavored vinegar," said Doctor Phlox with a smile. "Lieutenant, I think you can quit pummeling her back now. I'm sure the hiccups are all gone, no?"  
  
Sato finally drew a breath, nodding her head. "Pickle juice? You gave me pickle juice?"  
  
"Why, yes. It works every time. I have never known it to fail," assured Phlox.   
  
At this point the bat cage was literally rattling as the vexed bat became more agitated at being unable to obtain its prey. "Lieutenant, perhaps you should take the Ensign to the mess hall to get something to drink. That should remove the taste of the pickle juice, as you call it. And be sure to take those--what are they, may I ask?"  
  
"Agents of chaos," mumbled Reed as he grabbed the Bunny Slippers by their heels in his fist this time, holding them by his side.   
  
As Malcolm was escorting Hoshi out of sickbay, he kept clenching and unclenching his fist. This produced the effect of making the little bunny heads of the slippers appear to be nodding goodbye to Phlox. The Doctor waved back to them in farewell.  
  
------  
  
Lieutenant Reed placed the Bunny Slippers on a table in the mess hall then joined Sato to get some hot tea. Commander Trip Tucker soon made an entrance as well. The engineer had been at work very early and needed some coffee to get through the rest his morning.  
  
Trip saw his friends at the dispenser and their new companions on a table. Looking at the Bunny Slippers, he said, "Well, hiya, little fellas. Where did you come from?"   
  
"Monty Python's Flying Circus, I suspect. But where they are going is back to Hoshi's quarters," responded Malcolm as he and Hoshi approached the table with their mugs.   
  
The Bunny Slippers ignored the remark and graced the Commander with their unrelenting good humor as if sensing a kindred spirit.  
  
"Monty's what?" asked Trip as he moved off to get his own cup of coffee. Hoshi and Malcolm sat at the table with the Bunny Slippers providing their unabashed companionship.  
  
"Malcolm, I'm really sorry for all the trouble this morning," began Hoshi. Malcolm gave her a suspicious look, wondering what could possibly go wrong next.  
  
"Hoshi, I--well, actually, I'm not quite sure I can explain the bizarre chain of events we've just experienced, but why did you start crying on the bridge? The Captain looked at me as if I were responsible for that," said Malcolm.   
  
"You made Hoshi cry?" asked Trip as he sat down to join the two, stopping to give the Bunny Slippers a quick pat on the head.  
  
"No, Malcolm did not make me cry! He's been trying to help me all morning," said Hoshi, rising to his defense quickly. "I got some bad news this morning. I was so distracted I forgot to put my boots on. I just realized I was running late for my shift and made a mad dash for the bridge."  
  
"So now Malcolm's got you walking barefoot as a punishment?" asked Trip.  
  
"No, Commander. The beastly things tripped her--" began Malcolm pointing an accusing finger at the Bunny Slippers who gleamed back an innocent expression.  
  
"Don't talk about Trudy and Rudy that way! They're warm, fuzzy slippers and one of my best reminders of home," responded Hoshi. The Bunny Slippers looked quite delighted at her defense of their character.  
  
"And should have been left safely in your quarters," tossed back Malcolm immediately.  
  
"Whoa, there. Watch your tone. Children shouldn't listen to grown-ups arguing," said Trip, placing his hands as if to cover the bunny ears. Hoshi smiled while Malcolm shook his head, but his half-smile did appear.  
  
"What was the news, Hoshi?" asked Malcolm, going back to pursue his earlier line of questioning. Hoshi looked at the expectant faces of Malcolm and Trip. They were her friends, not just commanding officers. But would they understand?  
  
"You probably won't even understand. My paper got rejected. I wrote my first paper as sole author and it was rejected. I've never been on a paper that was rejected and I've been on dozens as co-author and lead author," said Hoshi.  
  
"Well, what did the reviewers say? Or was it just an editorial decision?" asked Trip.  
  
Hoshi looked up in surprise. Then she realized that Trip actually had a doctorate in Engineering. Of course he would be familiar with the scientific review process.  
  
"The reviewers just had minor comments, but the editor of the journal said that they wanted something more original. Frankly, I'm worried that there's some professional jealousy there. Every language I've encountered our here is unique!" responded Hoshi.  
  
"Well, just take it to another journal. If the work is good, it should get published," assured Trip.  
  
"That's the problem. The other journal that is ideal for it has a new editor who is hostile towards my major professor back in graduate school. It's not likely to get accepted there, either," said Hoshi.  
  
"It's a shame scientific discourse is subject to the same politics as elsewhere, but it might work to your advantage this time. Send it to the rival journal. The editor may enjoy needling his counterpart by accepting it. That happened to a paper I was on once," noted Malcolm. Hoshi looked up in askance.   
  
"Malcolm and I are working on a paper now with regard to the engineering behind the phase cannons. Non-classified stuff, just basic science," explained Trip.  
  
Hoshi looked at Malcolm again. "You have a degree in Engineering, too?"  
  
"No," came Malcolm's quick response.  
  
Trip filled in the details. "His degree is in physics, but it's just a Master's. You better fess up, Malcolm. She's got that look in her eye."  
  
Malcolm shot a glance to Trip that said thank you for bringing this up! He sighed then began his explanation. "I have the coursework and have passed exams at Starfleet Academy to be considered a doctoral candidate. A dissertation project is all that is lacking, but I decided to join the Enterprise crew instead."  
  
"Yeah, and you know I could wrangle being the supervisor of a dissertation for you out here if you only say the word," said Trip accusingly to his friend. "Malcolm's publication record is about on par with mine."  
  
"But not as first author and I've certainly never done a solo piece," pointed out Malcolm quickly. "Look, it helps me to write reports of the tests I conduct. It's just another step to develop them into a research manuscript."  
  
"The hardest part is getting our papers through clearance at Starfleet. Sounds like they're actually cutting you some slack in linguistics. I think I'm jealous," said Trip, with Malcolm joining in to nod his head in the affirmative.   
  
"I'm sorry, I just never thought of you two as academics, but it all makes sense," said Hoshi, seeing her friends in a new light. The Bunny Slippers looked blissfully unenlightened, however.  
  
"You thought we were just techno scum freaks?" suggested Trip.   
  
"No, sometimes I forget that we all have a lot of faces we can present," Hoshi said, smiling at her friends and feeling better.   
  
"I've just never been rejected by anyone or anything until I came aboard Enterprise," said Hoshi, thinking back to Malcolm rejecting her invitation to dinner as she tried to discover his favorite food on his birthday. She noticed Malcolm blushing and thought he might be remembering the same thing. The Bunny Slippers looked gleefully forgiving of the incident, but for the time being they were ignored.  
  
"So, why don't you get cracking on some alternate journals to submit to," said Trip.  
  
"Or you could publish the manuscript as a monograph," chimed in Malcolm.  
  
"I'll look into both options," Hoshi said, nodding her head in the affirmative. The day was turning out much better. They finished their break while discussing issues of publication. Even with electronic media, peer-review and editorial decisions ruled academia.  
  
"We'd better get those slippers to your quarters, Hoshi. The Captain said we couldn't return to our stations until they were safely locked away, remember?"  
  
Malcolm and Hoshi walked quickly to her quarters. The Bunny Slippers merrily greeted crewmen as they bobbed along in Malcolm's hand. They finally arrived at Hoshi's quarters where the Lieutenant placed them by Hoshi's bed while she put on her boots.   
  
The Tactical Officer made certain the Ensign entered her security code to ensure her quarters were locked. The Bunny Slippers looked contented as they guarded their mistress' possessions, happy to have had their brief tour of the ship.  
  
------  
  
One year later, he was inside her quarters giving her a lingering good night kiss. The Bunny Slippers watched this exchange in merriment as they lay against the wall facing the bed.  
  
"Stay," she said, kissing him again to convince him this would be a wise choice.  
  
He returned her kiss then released her from his embrace. He went directly to the Bunny Slippers and turned them to face the wall.  
  
"Now, where were we?"  
  
*****  
  
Author Notes:  
  
Written April, 2002, 8 pages, and posted at LD. The bunny slippers were apparently first mentioned in a fic by DownInNewYork; however, I never read that story. I picked them up from authors from other RS stories who mentioned Hoshi possessing a pair. I apologize for their invasion, but I had to post this story so that subsequent references to the Bunny Slippers would make sense.  
  
Reviews are not necessary. Thanks for taking the time to read. 


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